Nanny state: Tennant alcohol restrictions for Alice?

Sir – The Gunner Government has indicated it intends to introduce a range of radical new alcohol restrictions for Alice Springs, similar to those currently in place in Tennant Creek.

A letter sent to all Alice Springs take away liquor licence holders by the chairperson of the NT Liquor Commission on September 3 says that with the Barkly experience in mind, a review of take-away liquor licence conditions in Alice Springs will be conducted with submissions closing on September 28.

Notice of this review has not been made public yet and submissions close in just three weeks. It appears that the Gunner Government does not want Alice Springs people to know what they are up to.

Introducing the same extreme restrictions will come as a blow to the whole town.

Alice Springs is 10 times the size of Tennant Creek. What might be accepted to some extent in Tennant Creek, will not be accepted by the people of Alice Springs.

These extreme alcohol restrictions will damage our national and international reputation as a tourist destination, damage our economy and make the 99% of drinkers who drink responsibly very, very angry.

Add these new restrictions to the BDR and the Alcohol Floor Price and you have the ultimate “nanny state” where the Gunner Government is telling us all what we can drink, how much we can drink and when we can drink it.

So much for population growth, this socially regressive approach to alcohol policy will send people packing.

It is time the Gunner Government targeted the problem drinkers instead of penalising everyone.

I would encourage all Alice Springs residents to write a letter to the Chairperson of the NT Liquor Commission expressing your views on these proposed alcohol restrictions.”

2 Comments (starting with the most recent)

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Michael Dean

Posted September 9, 2018 at 9:17 am

The letter I saw didn’t indicate what, if any, new restrictions were going to be put in place.
So Robyn, it’s a bit hard to write and complain about things that haven’t happened yet.
Let’s all just wait and see what is going to be proposed then argue for or against it.

The NT Government released a press release on September 3 announcing that it was inquiring into takeaway liquor licensing regulations in the Alice Springs region after conducting an inquiry in the Barkly.
Reducing harmful levels of alcohol consumption in the NT is not “going to send people packing”.
On the contrary, I suggest that it will increase the quality of life for everyone.
The problem is easy access to alcohol and takeaway has been the biggest culprit for decades.
There is no silver bullet: The BDR and a Floor Price are part of the goal of reducing the amount of excessive alcohol consumed and the cost to the public across many portfolios, including tourism, which suggests that a figure of 99% responsible consumers is inflated.
If 1% of the population can do so much damage, and it is a generational trauma, then the status quo needs changing.
Lulling people into complacency and allowing the alcohol industry to self-regulate while alcohol-related trauma continues is irresponsible.
A nanny state would do nothing about it.
Intervention is necessary.